Remembrance Sunday 2011

Excellent turnout from 1875 at Remembrance Sunday again.

A moving church service from Reverend Lulu Pelly wasmade even better by an excellent poem from 11EOD.

Your standard of uniform was excellent.

Longmoor Camp

Longmoor Easter Training Camp: 10th–17th April 2010

Cadets from Towcester took part in a week long training camp at Longmoor on the 10th to 17th April. The camp included a range of activities with everything from first aid to fieldcraft.

Sunday the 10th

Everyone found their own way to the meeting point in Halton before starting the coach journey to Longmoor. Once at Longmoor, kit was organised and after a quick meal and initial briefing, cadets were sent to the block and unpacking began in preparation for the next morning.

Monday the 11th

After an early start at 6:00 and breakfast at 7:00, another briefing was given and cadets were organised into groups depending on what activities they were to do for that day. No.8 live firing took place for those with current WHTs while tests and training took place for those who did not. L98 A2 training also took place on this day.

Tuesday the 12th

With training completed on both weapons, more live firing took place.

Wednesday to Friday Morning

Various activities took place on these days as cadets were split into their flights and sections for the rest of the week. The activities included; navigation, marksmanship, kit preparation, assault course, models, fieldcraft, teamwork and drill.

Friday to Saturday

The remaining time on the camp was focused on the 24 hour exercise which took place in the training area and made use of all he skills that had been learnt throughout the week. It began with a long patrol to the harbour area after the briefing. Once the harbour area was set up, some more training was given on how to carry out patrols before both flights were tasked with retrieving the ration packs. That night and the next morning involved a series of patrols and objectives for sections such as reconnaissance, vehicle checkpoints which required skills such as first aid, radio and teamwork. Lunch on the Saturday was provided in the mess and cadets then returned to the blocks to shower, pack and clean the block ready to leave.

Sunday the 17th

Once all kit was returned and everyone was debriefed, cadets were free to leave and the coach departed at 10:30 after a rewarding and enjoyable camp.

Longmoor Easter Training Camp

Cadets from Towcester took part in a week long training camp at Longmoor on the 10^th to 17^th April. The camp included a range of activities with everything from first aid to fieldcraft.

Sunday 10^th

Everyone found their own way to the meeting point in Halton before starting the coach journey to Longmoor. Once at Longmoor, kit was organised and after a quick meal and initial briefing, cadets were sent to the block and unpacking began in preparation for the next morning.

Monday 11th

After an early start at 6:00 and breakfast at 7:00, another briefing was given and cadets were organised into groups depending on what activities they were to do for that day. No.8 live firing took place for those with current WHTs while tests and training took place for those who did not. L98 A2 training also took place on this day.

Tuesday 12th

With training completed on both weapons, more live firing took place.

Wednesday 13th to Friday 15th AM

Various activities took place on these days as cadets were split into their flights and sections for the rest of the week. The activities included; navigation, marksmanship, kit preparation, assault course, models, fieldcraft, teamwork and drill.

Friday 15th PM to Saturday 16th

The remaining time on the camp was focused on the 24 hour exercise which took place in the training area and made use of all he skills that had been learnt throughout the week. It began with a long patrol to the harbour area after the briefing. Once the harbour area was set up, some more training was given on how to carry out patrols before both flights were tasked with retrieving the ration packs. That night and the next morning involved a series of patrols and objectives for sections such as reconnaissance, vehicle checkpoints which required skills such as first aid, radio and teamwork. Lunch on the Saturday was provided in the mess and cadets then returned to the blocks to shower, pack and clean the block ready to leave. 

Sunday 17^th

Once all kit was returned and everyone was debriefed, cadets were free to leave and the coach departed at 10:30 after a rewarding and enjoyable camp.

St. John Youth First Aid Course

19th-20th February 2011


Towcester squadron took part in a joint youth first aid course in conjunction with Milton Keynes squadron on the 19th and 20th of February. The aim was to learn vital skills and first aid knowledge to complete the St. John Youth First Aid qualification. A total of 15 cadets took part from Towcester, with only 7 cadets from Milton Keynes. The first day took place in Towcester, starting at 9:00 and finishing at 5:00, focusing on the topics which would be assessed; CPR, the primary survey, the recovery position and bleeding and shock. Although these were the focus of the day, many other skills were learnt such as managing; allergic reactions, spinal injury, chest pains and choking. All of which included videos with possibly the worst acting I have ever seen, amusing everyone on the course. The second day, which took place in Milton Keynes and started at 9:30, finishing at 3:00, built upon the knowledge learnt on the previous day as well as learning new skills such as how to deal with; burns and scalds, electric shock, fainting, hypothermia, heat exhaustion and poisoning before the practical assessments took place. The practical assessments involved situations in which the skills learnt would be used to deal with a casualty, including some brilliant acting from Corporal Howe D as the bleeding casualty. Most cadets passed each assessment first time however with a few repeats, a 100% completion rate was achieved, a brilliant result for the course.

Squadron Website

The Squadron website now has

 - links to our mailing lists - sign up and be kept up to date on all the latest activities and news.

 - links to our documents - Can't find that form? Well now it's on-line for you to download. Training material to follow.

E-mail admin@towcester-aircadets.org.uk for more information.

Sunday 7th November 2010 - Battle of Britain Postal Shoot

We arrived in Aylesbury just after 10.00, ready to take part in the Battle of Britain shooting competition. Flight Lieutenant Gilson allowed us onto the range and we were each given a No.8 rifle for the day. We were instructed to clean the rifles before beginning and we then set up our targets at the end of the 25m range. We started by fireing two by five round groups to check the sights on the rifles and we were then instructed on how to improve our shooting with position and breathing technique. After a short break, we returned to the range to fire two more five round groups in order to apply what we had learnt. Next, we did a practice competition shoot with ten rounds fired at a five target card, two rounds fired at each target. Howe D. did extremely well in practice, scoting a total of 91 out of 100. We then made any final changes to the sights before having a break. We then returned, we were ready to shoot the competition cards. Howe D dropped a few points compared to his practice however Howe M made up for the loss. Winlow and Dairy went next, scoring reasonably. Overall a very good result considering it was the first time our squadron had taken part in this competition.

Saturday 6th November - Wing Shooting Competition

After an early start and a quick breakfast at McDonalds we arrived at RAF Halton at 7:30. We had all renewed our weapon handling tests on the Thursday, so we were ready to shoot. The four of us, Howe D, Howe M, Dairy and Winlow, were split between detail one and two for the No. 8 rifle competition and we began just after 8:00. The competition consisted of a Wing marksman practice, with five rounds deliberate fired at the left hand target, followed by five rounds snap, rapid and a further five rounds deliberate, all fired at the right hand target. After collecting the targets, we were confident we had done well and we went back to the waiting detail hut before heading over to the air rifle range. For the air rifle competition, each of us was required to fire twenty rounds deliberate at a five target card, five rounds in each corner target. We finished this swiftly and although we had not done as well as the previous competition, we were still pleased with the results. The only competition left was the D.C.C.T., in which electronic rifles are fired at a target which appears on a screen. This allows the type of practice and the range of the practice to be controlled very easily. Only Howe D. and Howe M. were able to take part in this competition as they were the only ones with valid L98 A2 WHTs. Once that competition was finished, all we had to do was head back to the No. 8 range to await the results. In the end, we placed 3rd in the No.8 competition and 6th overall, a very good result.